


Bottled Up Feelings

by dollalpaca



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF, RuPaul's Drag Race UK RPF
Genre: Be Mine Week 2020, F/F, Idiots in Love, Lesbian AU, Lots of domestic fluff, Slow Burn, genie au, idiots to lovers, pure fluff with lesbians pinning without being aware of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:54:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22622122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollalpaca/pseuds/dollalpaca
Summary: In which Cheryl breaks a lamp and ends up meeting Blu, the most unconventional genie to ever exist.
Relationships: Cheryl Hole/Blu Hydrangea, Vinegar Strokes/Sum Ting Wong
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	1. Crisis Chocolates

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of the Be Mine Week hosted by @writethehousedown on tumblr! please go check it out if you want more stories about your favourite queens ❤  
> thanks to frey and grapefruit for beta-ing, and to winter for brainstorming with me and letting me ask stupid questions about the uk. love ya gals ❤  
> the updates will be everyday, or so i hope, since that's what the challenge's about.

One of Cheryl’s biggest prides was her dance studio. She’d worked her whole life to be where she was, and nothing made her happier than seeing her students become skilled dancers.

She especially had a soft spot for the little ones; she taught ballet classes on the kids, Wednesdays and Fridays and it was the highlight of her week. They were always full of imagination and stories to tell, brightening up her days by giving her a good laugh.

Another class had gone by, and Cheryl was trying to get the kids to behave while they waited in the main hall for their parents to pick them up. They were all around her, telling her about their holidays and what they’d done. She listened to every single one of them with a smile and replied as enthusiastically as she could.

She loved her children, and her children loved her back.

“Miss Cheryl! Miss Cheryl!” One of the kids called, tugging on her skirt. Cheryl turned to see Lily, secretly one of her favourite students.

“Yes, love?” 

“Mommy told me to tell you she can’t pick me up, so my auntie will come instead.” Lily stretched her arm looking for something in her backpack and pulled out a note. “Here.”

Cheryl read the note trying to not roll her eyes. She knew Lily’s aunt, but they weren’t on the best of terms. She nodded with a forced smile and soon Lily was back to chatting with her friends.

She took a deep breath and swore she wouldn’t let Vivienne’s presence affect her. She’d just come, pick her niece up, and then she’d be gone. It wasn’t that big of a deal, right?

Cheryl tried not to worry about it, until the kids started leaving, one by one, and at some point Lily was the only left and Vivienne was nowhere to be found.

She sat next to Lily on the floor by the entrance and let the little girl ramble about her dolls and how she’d performed an important surgery on one of them, and now missed playing with her, but she obviously had to rest to get better. Cheryl listened to all of her occurrences with a big smile, forgetting, for a moment, that it was closing time and Vivienne still hadn’t arrived.

Finally, she appeared bursting through the door and trying to catch her breath, looking as if she’d ran all the way from her office to the studio.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” She breathed out, leaning on the nearest wall to catch her breath.

Lily stood up with a jump and Cheryl followed her, adjusting her bag and searching for her keys in her pocket.

“I’m so sorry, Lily love, but I had a very important meeting. You think you can forgive me if I let you eat candy before dinner?” She offered and Lily nodded, beaming, and then Vivienne’s attention fell on Cheryl. “Thank you for staying with her, I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Don’t worry, I love this small bean, so it really wasn’t any problem.” She winked at Lily and they followed her out of the studio. “I will have to talk with your mom when she picks you up on Friday, though, if you're planning to be Fairy number one at the Valentine’s Day Show.”

Cheryl turned to see them once the doors were locked and saw Vivienne pursing her lips, shoulders tense and her grip on Lily’s shoulders a bit too tight.

“Yeah, actually, since Lily’s mama’s got a raise in her job I’m gonna be picking her up from now on. I thought my sister had already told you…?” Cheryl blinked many times before she acknowledged what Vivienne had just said.

“Oh.” Was all that came out of her mouth. She chewed on the inside of her cheek until she rearranged the thoughts running in her mind. “That’s perfectly fine, so I’ll just talk with you on Friday about the cost of Lily’s costume and you can tell Emma. All right?” Vivienne nodded, her grip on Lily loosening.

“All right,” Vivienne repeated, taking Lily’s hand, clearly wanting to escape from the conversation, but she turned around one last time, much for Cheryl’s annoyance. “By the way, I’m sorry I never texted you back. I’m… Still thinking about it. See you on Friday.” She and Lily waved at her, leaving Cheryl frozen in her spot with a blind anger taking over her, as she saw the pair walk down the street.

*

Cheryl didn’t usually drink in the middle of the week when she had to get up the next morning for work. But this was a special occasion - she tried to convince herself as she poured glass after glass, until the wine bottle was half empty.

Why had she been stupid enough to think it’d be a good idea to mess with one of her students' emotionally unavailable relative? And the worst part was that she never even planned it, never intended to actually make a move on Lily’s hot aunt — it just happened that they frequented the same bar and drunk Cheryl wasn’t the same as sober Cheryl.

It just _happened_ , and six months after spending their first night together, Cheryl very much regretted it.

She sighed as she ate what she liked to call her “crisis chocolates” saved up for moments like these. Tomorrow she’d for sure regret it, but right now there wasn’t anything else that could cheer her up.

Well, except the marathon of _El Bahiano_ , her favourite soap opera. It was from Argentina and the dubbing was awful - much like the acting - but it was Cheryl’s biggest guilty pleasure. Besides, it had drama and lesbians, so what else could she ask for?

Cheryl was finishing another glass of wine when the soap opera took yet another turn, and before she noticed one of her favourite characters was throwing herself off the cliff. Familiar “To Be Continued” credit rolled around and a voice told the viewers to tune in next week for the big finale. Cheryl spit out her drink.

“What? How dare they end the marathon there?! I need to know what happened with Lorena!” She exclaimed offended, trying to blindly reach for the remote with her free hand, as she kept cursing the TV. Then, she heard a loud crash and the place got significantly darker.

Cheryl froze, slowly turning to where there once was a lamp lightning up the living room. She left the wine glass on the table and cursed herself, stumbling to look for the broomstick.

Definitely it had been a bad idea to drink a whole bottle alone — it had been a bad idea to drink, period.

With an annoyed groan, she made the mental note to swing by Vinegar and Bo’s shop tomorrow to buy a new lamp.

*

“Hey girls, is anyone here?” Cheryl exclaimed as she wandered around the antique shop.

 _Antique Shock_ was owned by two of Cheryl’s best friends, Vera - commonly referred to as Vinegar - and her girlfriend Bo. They’ve had it since they graduated from college, both girls thinking it was a great use for their history diploma — besides, they loved vintage things, so why not?

Cheryl hung out at the shop all the time when she was just beginning with her dance studio and she was still learning how to cope with the attention span of her five year old students. Nowadays she barely went to visit them every other week, but they were still pretty close.

“I thought I could smell bad spray tan,” said Vinegar from the counter. Cheryl smiled as she approached her, blowing air kisses at her. “How are you, baby? It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you around.”

“Oh, please, I was here before Christmas, don’t be so dramatic.” She looked around, trying to find something resembling a lamp. “So, yesterday I may or may not have gone into a drunk rampage ‘cause—”

“Oh, please tell me it didn’t have to do with Vivienne or _El Bahiano_ ,” Vinegar cut her off and Cheryl rolled her eyes.

“Y’know, I hate when you think all of my drunk rampages are either because of Vivienne _or_ _El Bahiano_ ,” she began, Vinegar cocked a sceptical brow. “This time, it was both.” Vinegar let out a loud laugh and Cheryl folded her arms offended.

“What happened and what did you break this time?” She inquired with an amused smile and Cheryl rolled her eyes.

In all the years Vinegar had known Cheryl, she came to know that drinking when she was pissed was a tendency of hers, getting clumsier with each drink. Vinegar could say without an ounce of doubt that during Cheryl’s early years as a dance teacher she’d helped pay their bills with the amount of things she’d broken in her flat as a result of this.

“Lorena throws herself off a cliff! And they dared to end the marathon right there! I might just sue them, honestly,” she said with a tone so exasperated you’d think she was talking about real life events. Vinegar laughed again. “Ugh, I’m not in the mood for talking about Vivienne right now, like, I even ate all of my crisis chocolates, so figure out yourself if what she did pissed me off. I can tell you I need a new lamp, though.”

Vinegar pursed her lips and disappeared behind a door for a moment, coming back with a dusty box.

“We got these around Christmas, I think. We planned on fixing some of them, but we totally forgot since we have our hands full with this wardrobe we bought a few days ago,” she commented while opening it, pulling some lamps out.

The majority were tiny and had cracks here and there, some lacked a shade or a spotlight; overall pretty minor stuff. Cheryl peeked inside the box to see if there were any left, and she found one pretty weird looking.

“What about this one, V? How much?” She asked taking out the lamp. The base resembled the figure of a woman with her arms up, the paint was blue and the shade was a bit worn-off, but other than that, it looked fine.

“Huh, weird, I don’t remember this one,” Vinegar commented, lips slightly pursed. “Fiveteen pounds.”

“Deal.”

*

Cheryl sighed in relief when she got home, wanting more than ever to take a warm bath, eat dinner, and go to sleep.

She put some leftovers from her lunch in the microwave and sunk into the couch, looking over her unopened texts. Most of them were from the parents of her students, a couple from her friends, and one from her sister, asking if she was coming home for the weekend. A tiny part of her was disappointed there wasn’t a text from Vivienne — just a tiny bit.

A weird noise came from somewhere in the apartment, taking over her attention. Cheryl cocked a brow, looking around. She saw the box where the lamp she’d just bought was and remembered she had to clean it, the weird noise suddenly forgotten.

Cheryl took it out and wiped the dust off with an old cloth, the lamp quickly getting a shiny blue tone. She smiled, pleased with how it looked and turned around to check on her dinner.

Suddenly, there was a cloud of white smoke and she started coughing desperately, not being able to breathe. She turned back around and instead of the lamp she saw a woman sitting calmly on the table. Cheryl nearly had a heart attack.

“Shit, I forgot this was part of the deal,” the stranger said, waving a hand, trying to dissipate the smoke.

Once it cleared out, Cheryl was able to see her. The woman was short, with long orange hair pulled up in a ponytail, milky white skin and the weirdest clothes she’d seen in a while.

She turned around, almost as if she was looking for something, and locked eyes with Cheryl. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean.

“Who are you?” Cheryl managed to ask. The stranger hopped off the table and gave Cheryl a smile.

“My name’s Blu without an E, and I’m the genie of the lamp. I’m here to grant you three wishes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr as @chachkisalpaca! please leave feedback if you'd like :)


	2. Playing Cupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day two's prompt is "cupid" so here it is :) hope you like it! we're seeing things on blu's pov. thanks to frey for beta-ing ❤  
> pls leave feedback if you can, i'm trying to get confident in writing about the uk gals and any constructive criticism helps!

Being a genie wasn’t the easiest job out there, nor was it as amazing as Disney had made it seem in _Aladdin_. Blu would know - she’d been one for quite a long time now.

She wasn’t really sure how she ended up being a genie, though; like most things in her life, it just _happened_. She had very few memories of her life as a human, the main one being that she was from somewhere in Ireland, and that her name wasn’t actually Blu, but she couldn’t remember it, so she’d given herself a new one.

When she wasn’t granting wishes, she usually hung out with genies from all around the world. Humans would be surprised to know the lamps were actually portals to their realm, where they lived in peace, and language barriers didn’t exist.

It was a normal day for Blu, she was having lunch with some of her friends, telling them about this couple that acquired her newest lamp, but they hadn’t summoned her yet, which she found really weird, but it wasn’t as if she was complaining.

“It’s been so long since anyone summoned me, I don’t think I can go back to dealing with humans,” she commented, taking a bite of her sandwich.

 _“Oh, I totally get you,”_ Dearis replied, _“Last time I was out of my lamp a wish I granted got me suspended. How was I supposed to know they’d added wishing for a baby to the Don’t List? It literally happened while I was out!” S_ he complained, folding her arms.

“Well, at least y’all have the _opportunity_ to be found. My lamp’s been lost since the Titanic drowned, and I can’t reclaim a change until two more years. I’m tired of training new genies,” Scarlet added with a scoff.

Blu was about to reply when she disappeared from the table and transported to her home, the distinctive signal that someone had summoned her. How convenient. She looked at the portal and sighed as she crossed it, praying this time she wouldn’t have to grant any wishes that could harm her owner or herself.

The portal made her fall on a table, landing on her butt. She coughed a little when she tried to breathe and inhaled smoke instead.

“Shit, I forgot this was part of the deal,” she complained, trying to dissipate the smoke.

Once it cleared out, she looked around to face her new client, only to find one of the prettiest women she’d seen in her very long life.

“Who are you?” She asked, clearly afraid. Blu hopped off the table and offered her a smile.

“My name’s Blu without an E, and I’m the genie of the lamp. I’m here to grant you three wishes,” she introduced herself and the woman blinked repeteadly.

“I think that tea Vinegar gave me had something in it, ‘cause I must be hallucinating,” she replied, stretching an arm with the intention of reaching for her. Blu stood where she was without moving an inch. The woman poked her arm, and that was enough to make her look absolutely terrified within a second. “Oh my God, you’re real, aren’t you?”

Blu snorted - she hadn’t gotten that reaction in years; majority of people screamed in happiness, jumped all over the place, or said their first wish right away, without thinking on it much.

“I mean, I will disappear once you run out of wishes, but for now, I’m very much real.” She shrugged, there was an awkward silence for a few moments.

“I can’t think of anything to wish for right now,” she confessed, scratching the back of her neck. “Maybe just eating dinner without another stranger arriving un-invited to my home.”

“Hey! You invited me the moment you bought my lamp, so, really, you set yourself up for that,” Blu pointed out, wandering off to the living room, the blonde coming right behind her.

“That makes sense, I guess? No. Nothing about this makes sense,” she said, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen. “Please, don’t break anything while I have dinner; I don’t wanna go back to Vinegar’s shop and end up buying yet another genie lamp or something.”

“Fair enough, we can use _anything_ to hide in, to be honest,” Blu commented while she looked at the woman’s pictures. She stumbled across a frame with a photo of her wearing a graduation robe that read 'Cheryl'. She read it out loud and she poked her head from the kitchen. “You have a lovely name.”

Cheryl’s cheeks got a slight rosy tone. She gave a small smile and mouthed a 'thank you.'.

*

About an hour had passed since Blu had appeared in Cheryl’s home, and she hadn’t wished for anything yet. It was weird, but then again - she could be thinking about what to wish for. Every other decade Blu would get someone like her - someone that thought well on their wishes. After all, three wasn’t nearly as enough to wish for everything they wanted.

Cheryl was taking a shower after having explained Blu how to use the remote of the TV, only for her to deadpan, “I was already an adult when these were invented, I _know_ how to use a remote.” Cheryl had cocked a sceptical brow and left in silence, though Blu was pretty sure she heard her say something along the lines of 'Okay, boomer'.

She was watching a weird show called _The Bachelor_ when Cheryl sat next to her, wearing pyjamas, and trying to untangle her wet hair.

“Let me see if I understand correctly,” she said, while still battling with her hair. “I can wish for anything, without any conditions?”

“Well, there are some rules, like - you can’t wish for someone’s death, nor to have a baby, you can’t wish for someone to love you, huge amounts of money, or winning a competition unfairly…” Blu listed and Cheryl listened carefully to each word she spoke. “I think that’s basically it — unless The Council is redacting new laws as we speak, it has happened before.”

Cheryl’s interest seemed to spark when she heard the latter, but didn’t ask about it.

“So, exceptions aside, I can wish for _anything_ without any consequences?” She asked again and Blu nodded. “I wish some of the mothers of my junior students would stop acting as if they’re on fucking _Dance Moms_ — like, goddamn Nancy, why can’t you understand that if your child didn’t get the main role was because someone is better than them?” Cheryl complained, making Blu laugh loudly.

Well, she certainly wasn’t expecting that.

“Okay, um, you should definitely word that better if you want Nancy to stop being such a pain in the arse,” she suggested making Cheryl laugh.

“Oh, God, no. Even if I want that, that’s not my wish. Can you imagine? It’d be such a waste; no amount of magic can change Nancy, she’s just the worst,” she said, stifling a yawn. “Let me think of what I actually want and then I’ll come back to you.”

Blu pursed her lips and knitted her brows together in a frown.

“You do realize that I have to follow you around until you make your final wish, right?” Cheryl’s eyes widened in fear.

“Oh no, I can’t have you over at the studio, I’m already incredibly busy with the Valentine’s Day show!” She rubbed her eyelids, feeling tired and in need of a good sleep. “Ugh, listen, it’s been a long day and I have no energy left to try to understand you and your genie quirks. I’ll bring you a blanket and some pillows, and tomorrow we’ll sort out that following me around thing. All right?”

Blu wanted to tell her that there wasn’t any need for the pillows and blanket, she could just go back to the lamp and sleep there, but Cheryl was out of the room before she could open her mouth.

She sighed. Cheryl seemed to be one of the strangest clients she ever had the pleasure to have, but at least she was a charming woman.

*

“Miss Cheryl, who is she?” Cheryl gave the kids a nervous smile and Blu was already having the time of her life.

After waking up and nearly having another heart attack because for a moment she forgot Blu was sleeping on the couch, Cheryl had made breakfast for them and asked every single question that had to be asked.

Was it really necessary for Blu to accompany her throughout the day? Yes, it was a strict rule made to avoid anything bad happening to their clients; countless times there had been a genie stuck in the human world because their human had unexpectedly died before running out of wishes. It was to be safe.

Did Blu know anything about ballet? No, she didn’t. But what was magic for?

So there she was, at Cheryl’s studio, wearing one of Cheryl’s ballet attires, ready to help her out with today’s class. The moment she noticed the kids wouldn’t stop staring at her hair, Blu knew this was going to be the funniest thing she’d done in a while.

“Kids, this is Miss Blu, she’s going to help me prepare all of you for the Valentine’s Day show. Be good to her,” she said, and immediately all the kids surrounded Blu, saying 'hi' and asking why she had orange hair. “Oh Lord, I’m already regretting this,” she whispered.

On Blu’s side, she was over the moon with all the attention she was getting from the kids; she had always loved them, thinking they were the purest thing in the world.

“Alright, that’s enough, give Miss Blu some space. We’re gonna start in five minutes. Get ready, please,” Cheryl announced, the kids obeyed a bit reluctantly, but soon scattered around. “I’d say they’re like this ‘cause you’re new, but they’re like this every day. You get used to it at some point.” She shrugged, looking at them with a smile.

“Oh, don’t worry, I actually don’t mind. I love kids, I think they’re adorable.” Cheryl turned to see her with the same pretty smile she’d been giving the kids.

“Good, now let’s see if your magic can get the boys to line up and be en pointe when they get their cue.”

The class passed by in the blink of an eye; the kids absolutely adored Blu, laughing at all of her witty comments and obeying her quite easily. To say Cheryl was impressed was an understatement - she was completely blown away by the fact that even her feistiest student behaved well this time.

Perhaps Cheryl could wish her kids behaved that well on the daily; it would be like a dream come true.

The students were entertained by Blu’s funny stories as Cheryl talked with their parents about the show, the cost of the costumes, and whatnot.

“Miss Blu, how did you meet Miss Cheryl?” One of the kids asked, Blu chewed the inside of her cheek.

“That’s a good question,” she said, thinking of a somewhat believable story. “I was looking for a job, she needed help, and we just agreed to help each other out. We’re basically living together now.” All of the kids gave a collective gasp, though Blu didn’t know why.

“Are you Miss Cheryl’s girlfriend? My mommy told me only couples are allowed to live together,” a little girl piped up and Blu froze.

“ _Goddamn, Nancy_ ,” she thought.

“No, we’re not girlfriends exactly—”

“You’re wives?” Another one asked, followed by a gasp. Blu’s cheeks got as red as a tomato.

“No!” She exclaimed, the kids around snickering. “We’re neither wives nor girlfriends, we’re just _friends_. That’s all.”

The kids were about to go on with their cheesy questions, when they heard Miss Cheryl calling for several of them and they finally left Blu alone. She sighed in relief, never in all her years as a serious genie she’d let a bunch of kids get to her her like that.

“Hey, you okay over there? Your cheeks are really red, is it possible you have a fever?” Cheryl asked, coming closer. “Let me see.” She placed a hand over Blu’s forehead. Blu thought her hands were as soft as they looked. “You’re hot.”

“Thank you,” she replied without missing a beat. Cheryl rolled her eyes, withdrawing her hand. “I don’t have fever, that’s not possible. It’s just that those students of yours were asking me some weird questions,” she explained, an amused smile spread across Cheryl’s face.

“What have they done now?” She asked between giggles. Blu was about to tell her that her students might think they’re dating now, when a girl tugged on Cheryl’s skirt to catch her attention.

“Miss Cheryl, my aunt’s here.” She pointed at the entrance and Blu could tell something changed in Cheryl’s expression upon seeing the girl’s aunt.

“Of course, love, stay here with Miss Blu while I talk to her,” she said, leaving shortly after.

Blu looked at the women for a moment and she could tell there was tension of all kinds between them.

“You got nice hair, Miss Blu,” the girl complimented, Blu looked back at her with a smile.

“Aw, thank you, love! Your hair is really pretty too,” she said, “What’s your name, honey?”

“Lily West.”

Blu chatted with Lily for a bit, learning in the process that she was seven years old, had been doing ballet since she was five, and she liked Miss Cheryl so much she wished she was her auntie too.

“I’ve asked my auntie Vivienne if she would like to go on a date with Miss Cheryl so she can be my aunt too, but she said it’s not that simple. Do you know why it’s not simple, Miss Blu?” Blu looked over at the pair. She was ninety nine per cent sure they hadn’t just “had a date.”

“Sometimes people just don't have the time to date someone. You can’t force your aunt to date Miss Cheryl if she doesn’t want to.” She shrugged. Lily seemed to think about it for a moment, until she ultimately sighed overdramatically in defeat.

“I guess you’re right.”

“Lily! C’mere, love, we’re going home,” Lily’s aunt called, and the little girl immediately said goodbye to Blu with a smile, saying she’d see her the next class.

Blu was probably leaving by the end of the weekend back to her lamp, but of course she couldn’t say that out loud.

“So, what’s the deal between you and Lily’s aunt?” Blu inquired, once they were walking back to Cheryl’s apartment.

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Blu as if she’d just offended her mother.

“Nothing worth remembering,” she simply said, resuming with her walk. Blu cocked a brow.

“Was she that bad in bed?” Cheryl almost snapped her neck with the speed she turned to see Blu.

“Fuck you, Blu,” she replied with her cheeks getting red. Blu let out a loud laugh.

“Oh, c’mon, you can vent to me, I won’t judge, I’ve seen it all.” And it was true; aside from being a genie, sometimes she served as a therapist for her heartbroken clients.

Cheryl bit her bottom lip, unsure if she should tell her or not. In the end, she gave in with a sigh and proceeded to tell her the story of her relationship with Vivienne.

For starters, it wasn’t even a relationship. They just hooked up once, and later it turned out to be that Cheryl was Vivienne niece’s ballet teacher, making it a little awkward when she went to pick up Lily for the first time since they slept together.

After that, they just kept bumping into each other wherever they went, their interactions awkward until Vivienne got tired of it and brought Cheryl home again. And again, and again, and again. They kept hooking up, and at some point Cheryl caught feelings.

But Vivienne clearly did not. She’d made that very clear when on New Year's Day Cheryl had asked if she wanted to go on a date, like a _real_ date, after roughly six months of sleeping around. Vivienne said she’d think about it, and she had yet to give Cheryl an answer.

“… And that’s how I kicked off the year by losing my dignity,” she concluded, causing Blu to whistle in amazement.

“Honestly, your life sounds like a soap opera, or a bad cliché novel written by a teenager. Whichever you prefer, but it’s bad.” Blu shrugged, making Cheryl laugh softly.

“Yeah, I know, my friends have already told me. Vinegar once said to me 'Your favourite song is _New Rules_ , then why can’t you apply it to your life?'” She mocked, imitating her friend’s voice. Blu had no clue what _New Rules_ was, but she laughed either way.

“It’s a shame I can’t make people fall in love, I think you’d benefit from that,” Blu commented, but Cheryl wrinkled her nose.

“I could, but I don’t think I’d want it. I want someone to love me for me, not because of a magic trick a genie pulled on them,” she admitted, and Blu thought it made sense; she wouldn’t want that either.

Suddenly, an idea hit Blu. Well, more like last night she’d seen a movie close to what Cheryl was going through and the way the protagonist had solved her problems was genius.

“But, you know, there’s nothing written about helping your clients with their love lives,” she suggested, but Cheryl didn’t look one bit excited about it.

“Blu, I appreciate that, but I’m a twentyeight going on twenty nine years old lady, I’m past the age of wanting that kinda rom-com nonsense.” Cheryl rolled her eyes, but Blu didn’t lose her optimism.

“Well, but it’s not as if my help counts as a wish, and you still have time to think on what you want in the meantime.”

Cheryl narrowed her eyes, thinking about Blu’s words. She was too old for this nonsense, but then again - she had nothing to lose; she’d already lost what was left of her dignity on New Year's Day.

She massaged her temples before agreeing, knowing she’d very much regret this in the near future.

“It’s been a long time since I played Cupid, this is gonna be so much fun!” She exclaimed, linking arms with Cheryl as they changed their destination.

“Lord, please have mercy.”


	3. Pink Sweater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, thanks to frey for beta-ing! enjoy x

A couple days had passed since Blu entered Cheryl’s life, and it hadn’t been half as bad as Cheryl expected. She was greatly surprised when she found out Blu could cook, and she was great at it (or maybe she was using magic, which would make more sense).

There were moments in which she felt as if she was a teen on a sleepover, Blu making candies of all kinds appear from thin air as they laid on Cheryl’s bed, contemplating the city through the windows of her bedroom as they talked about everything and nothing at the same time — and, of course, Blu made Cheryl talk about Vivienne more than she’d want in order to learn what she was getting herself into.

Then there was the fact that Blu had been assisting her at the studio, helping her when there was a larger group to give classes to and tidying up the mess the little children left. Cheryl couldn’t be more grateful for it.

That day, her whole friends group has agreed to have some drinks at their favourite bar, just so they could catch up and talk shit like they used to. Everyone was going, and it made Cheryl a little nervous to bring Blu.

Who, by the way, was taking too damn long to decide if she preferred the pink sweater or the yellow one.

“Blu, hurry up, we’re gonna be late!” Cheryl exclaimed, constantly checking her phone.

“Wait a minute, I’ve been inside the lamp since before you were born, I deserve to dress up nicely for once,” she replied from Cheryl’s room, making her huff in annoyance. “All right, I’m done!”

Cheryl thought the fact that Blu wore her pink sweater better than her should be a crime, but they were running late and she didn’t have the time to throw a tantrum about it.

“You look pretty,” she complimented instead. “Now c’mon, I’m starving and my friends might be wondering where the hell I am already.”

“Yeah, about that,” Blu said as Cheryl locked the door. “What are we gonna tell them when they ask who I am? I don’t wanna mess up like I did with your students.”

Cheryl thought about it for a moment. The fact that her students now thought she was dating Blu didn’t worry her much — if anything it made her ego boost a little that someone, even a kid, thought it was possible for someone as pretty as Blu to even give her the time of the day —, they were just kids, and by that moment they’d probably forgotten about it.

It was her friends she was worried about; they constantly tried to set her up on dates in hopes that she’d stop chasing after Vivienne. It never worked out, clearly, and Cheryl couldn’t bring any new friends to their reunions without having at least one of them asking on everyone’s behalf what was the deal with that new girl.

“An old friend that came to visit for some time, maybe?” She offered, “If they ask how we know each other, tell them we’re high school friends. I met all of them in college, so there’s no way they can verify if it’s true or not.”

“Fair enough.”

The walk to the bar didn’t take long, or at least it didn’t feel like it. It was so easy to talk with Blu - the genie had endless stories to tell and witty replies for everything. Cheryl couldn’t recall the last time she had this much fun with someone outside her usual group.

Cheryl tried not to get used to it, though; she knew sooner or later Blu would return to her lamp, and she’d go back to watching ratchet TV shows over dinner without anyone to mock them with.

Arriving at Bono, Cheryl breathed in deeply and hoped everything would turn out alright.

The place wasn’t really crowded, which made sense, since it was Tuesday, and Cheryl already felt her cheeks burning when she saw Vinegar looking in her direction in surprise, elbowing Bo, so she’d look at her. Great. So it began.

“Hey girls, sorry I’m late,” she greeted, with Blu standing a few steps away from her. Cheryl didn’t have to be a genius to notice all of her friends were looking over at her. “This is an old friend of mine, Blu, she’s visiting town and I figured she could tag along with us, if that’s okay,” she explained, Blu said hi to them, appearing a little shy.

“Oh, no, it’s totally fine darling,” Divina was quick to reply. “The more, the merrier. Right girls?” The rest of them confirmed in chorus and they proceeded to sit down on the complete opposite sides of the table.

Cheryl panicked a little when she noticed this, but she tried to remain calm, hoping Blu’s chatty nature would help her get along with the others.

“So, Chez,” Divina said, “where do you know this Blu girl from? You’ve never mentioned her before.”

Out of all of them, of course it was Divina that’d be the first one to ask about Blu. She was the mom friend, and she had to know what her children had been up to; especially when she’d been the one Cheryl vented to every time things went wrong with Vivienne. She was desperate for her friend to just get over her.

“She’s a friend from high school, we lost contact over the years and I just happened to meet her on the way here,” she lied seamlessly, actually surprising herself, since she usually couldn’t lie even if her life depended on it.

Divina gave Blu a quick look and cocked a sceptical brow with a devilish smile in her face.

“Is that so? Then why is she wearing the sweater I gifted you for Christmas two years ago?” She inquired. Cheryl panicked, her palms getting a thin layer of sweat.

“Oh, I think it’s just a coincidence. It’s a pretty common design and colour.” Cheryl shrugged, trying to hide her sweaty palms.

Divina hummed, Cheryl looked over at Blu talking animatedly with Crystal and Vinegar, both of them looking very amused. Cheryl smiled unconsciously, thinking that under other circumstances, Blu would make a great addition to their group.

“ _No, Cheryl, stop it_ ,” she thought.

The conversation soon drifted to other topics - funny stories from their jobs, shenanigans from their day to day life, their pets, and whatnot. Occasionally, one of them would get the whole table’s attention to tell a story and they’d erupt in laughter, drawing dirty glances thrown their way from the other tables.

None of them cared. They were having too much fun to notice.

“All right, who’s coming with me to get us another round?” Cheryl said, raising her voice a little so they’d pay her attention. Blu immediately shot up from her seat.

“Lead the way,” she simply said, following her.

Cheryl didn’t miss the look Divina gave her, but she ignored her. She didn’t want to deal with that right now.

“So,” Cheryl began, after placing everyone’s orders. “How do you like my girls? Have they scared you yet, with all their weird questions and crazy stories?” She asked in a light-hearted tone, not really meaning it.

“Not at all, they’re pretty cool, I’ve never met people like them, and I’ve met all kinds of people,” she replied, tucking a strand of lose hair behind her ear. “Kinda makes me wish I didn’t have to go back there, y’know,” Blu commented, referring to the lamp, trying to sound casual, but there was something more to it, a feeling that Cheryl couldn’t put a finger on.

“Is it lonely there? I always thought it must be.”

“That is confidential information and I’m not allowed to tell you, otherwise I’d lose my kneecaps,” Blu said nonchalantly. Cheryl pouted, but ultimately let it go since the barman was handing them their drinks.

When they returned to their table and handed everyone their orders, Divina gave her a look she couldn’t decipher, and the night went on without any accidents.

*

“I think your friends liked me,” Blu commented on their way home.

“They sure have; we’ve barely said goodbye and Crystal’s already asking me in the group chat to take you with me the next time we get together,” she said, showing Blu the text.

“Aw, I’d like that, but I’ll probably be gone by the weekend.” She shrugged, and that reminded Cheryl of what she’d been meaning to tell her.

“Oh, right, about that,” Cheryl began, “I was about to tell you, I know what my first wish will be.”

A smile broke on Blu’s face, but Cheryl could swear it was a sad one by the look in her eye.

“Do tell me, then.”

“I wish—”

“Cheryl?”

Ah, shit.

Of course she would run into Vivienne right then, after having spent a lovely evening with her friends, just when she was going to make her first wish, having thought about it for days.

What a cliché situation.

“Vivienne, hi,” Cheryl said awkwardly, stopping dead in her tracks. “How are you?” she added, not really knowing what to say.

“Considering I’ve just had the fanciest dinner I’ve ever had in my life without wasting a pound, I’m good,” she replied motioning at the restaurant. “How about you? You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Cheryl’s grip on Blu’s arm tightened, wishing she could escape from this conversation.

“Well, I had drinks at Bono with some friends, so I can’t complain, really.” Cheryl tried to force a smile, but she didn’t have any will in her to fake one.

“I can see that.” Vivienne looked at Blu with a cocked brow. “Hey, aren’t you the girl that was teaching ballet with Cheryl last Friday?” She inquired with a suspicious tone.

Cheryl was surprised that Vivienne actually noticed Blu last week, but didn’t say anything about it, just nodded.

“This is Blu, she’s an old friend that’s helping me with the Valentine’s Day show,” she explained, Blu waved at Vivienne, as uncomfortable as she looked. ' _Not that I owe you any explanation_ ,' she thought.

“Yeah, Lily told me about her new teacher with orange hair,” she said with an unreadable expression.

Vivienne looked as if she wanted to say something else, Cheryl knew that expression on her face all too well; she was probably debating if what she was about to say was appropriate or not, and if she’d regret it later.

When her lips parted slightly, the door of the restaurant opened, and a short blonde came out from behind, holding a glass of champagne in her hand.

“Viv, come back! We’re gonna make a toast and Larry ordered an expensive champagne,” she announced, pointing at the glass she was holding.

“I’ll go in in a moment,” she replied, and soon the woman was back inside. Vivienne threw her cigarette and stepped on it, giving Cheryl a last look. “I’ll see you tomorrow when I pick Lily, I guess. Goodnight, Cheryl.”

*

That night, a storm broke loose shortly after Blu and Cheryl arrived home.

As soon as Vivienne was out of their sight Cheryl hurried Blu, feeling the air slowly abandon her lungs, though Blu didn’t understand her reaction — yes, the conversation was really awkward, but it wasn’t _that_ bad, was it?

Until she remembered what she said about Lily talking about Blu, and that majority of Cheryl’s students thought they were girlfriends.

Shit. She was really bad at playing Cupid.

Cheryl thought the storm was an accurate portrayal of her mood, as she was scared of the thunders, lightning up her whole room even when she’d closed the curtains.

Suddenly, her phone screen was lit up with a notification. Cheryl frowned slightly, reaching for her phone and unlocking it. Her stomach sank when she saw it was a text from Vivienne.

_Viv: Hey, listen, I know it’s none of my business and I still owe you an answer. But Lily told me you were dating the new teacher. I didn’t believe her at first – until I saw you with her today, and she was wearing your favourite pink sweater._

_Viv: so what I’m saying is, are you dating her or not?_

Cheryl stared at her phone in disbelief for what felt like years. What amazed her most, was that Vivienne recognized Cheryl’s sweater on Blu, even though she was wearing a jacket.

_Cheryl: how do you know it was my sweater?_

She couldn’t bring herself to reply to Vivienne’s question just yet. A reply came shortly after.

_Viv: you wore it almost every day I saw you when winter began. I recognized by that white stain on the edge of the fabric when she waved at me._

_Viv: there’s a reason why I’m the best lawyer in my firm, Cheryl._

A cold sweat ran down Cheryl’s back. If Vivienne spotted that stain, probably Divina had too — hell, maybe all her friends had noticed!

Cheryl almost reluctantly typed out an answer.

_Cheryl: I said she’s my friend and I have no reasons to lie to you. The kids made that up._

With that, she put her phone on silence, blocked it and rolled in bed a couple of times, trying to sleep — which she obviously couldn’t, thanks to the thunders and the constant temptation of checking if Vivienne had answered her.

Cheryl sighed, thinking it’d be a sleepless night, when an idea crossed her mind. She chewed on her lip, thinking if it was stupid, but she had nothing to lose, honestly, so she got up and headed to the living room, finding Blu wide awake just like her.

“Hey,” she said softly, standing a few feet away. “You can’t sleep either?”

“Nope, I hate storms and thunders,” she confessed with a shrug.

“Me too,” Cheryl said, fidgeting with her hands. “Hey, um, I was thinking, I know my couch isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, and since both of us can’t sleep… Would you like to sleep with me?” She asked, and Blu’s eyebrows shot up. A blush soon covered Cheryl’s cheeks. “You obviously don’t have to if you don’t want to, it was just a dumb idea, I’m—”

“I’d love to,” Blu cut off her rambling, making Cheryl let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and smile softly.

They silently made their way back to Cheryl’s room, with Blu picking the side to the wall, and getting comfy in a matter of seconds. Cheryl followed suit, the bed not big enough for the two of them, but they made it work.

“Goodnight, Blu,” Cheryl whispered, staring right into Blu’s eyes like the first day.

“Goodnight, Cheryl,” Blu said, leaving a kiss on Cheryl’s forehead, giggling when she saw her face and turning to face the wall.

Before falling asleep, Cheryl thought it was hard not to get used to Blu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave feedback or i'll c r y (jk. unless...) find me on tumblr as @chachkisalpaca


	4. Desire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short-ish chapter today! hope you all enjoy regardless 🤠 thanks to frey for beta-ing, love u bb

The days kept on passing, and Cheryl had all but forgotten about her first wish. Though, honestly, Blu didn’t mind it at all.

It was uncommon for her to spend this much time out of the lamp, sometimes going back in the same day she went out, sometimes after a couple days in which the client was indecisive as hell, but in the end made all of their three wishes. However, Cheryl had practically erased the word “wish” from her vocabulary, replacing it with “desire” - giving everything she said a dramatic connotation like she was in one of the soap operas she liked.

“It’s to avoid confusion,” she had explained, and Blu didn’t say anything, because, honestly, it was priceless to see how Cheryl stopped mid-sentence every other moment and re-phrased everything she’d just said, just in order to avoid a single word.

Blu got used to it in no time, though; but in all fairness, it was easy to get accustomed to Cheryl.

She enjoyed the mornings when Cheryl had no will to make them breakfast and instead dropped not so subtle hints at Blu, so she’d use her magic; the walks to the studio with their arms linked as Cheryl talked about all the little details of the city; the quietness of the studio that allowed Blu to hear Cheryl singing under her breath as she cleaned up and ran the finances; the absolute mess that started once the students arrived, and Cheryl had to make use of her infinite patience to deal with the kids, Blu helping her with the grumpy ones by making use of her magic —just a little, minuscule bit; the stops they made on their way home to buy takeaway food if the class had been particularly rough; the smell of Cheryl’s strawberry shampoo filling her nostrils when they slept together. Blu didn’t know if she had something like this when she was a human, but she loved the simplicity of their routine.

And she was afraid of it. Blu feared not being able to go back to her normal life - the one she had before Cheryl, and, inevitably, the one she’d carry on with once the woman ran out of wishes.

That dull, monotone life without Cheryl to light up her days with her occurrences and neverending rants about girl groups.

Though she did miss her friends and her lamp, she had to admit her life had never been as exciting as it was now — the genie life had been entertaining during her first decade, but being trapped inside of a lamp, with the only news from the human world coming from the genies that had been recently out, was as fun as it sounded.

Cheryl referred to her life as "boring" and "normal", but that was because she didn’t know genie life was horrendously monotone. Eating the same food every day, going to the same places with the same people, spending years without knowing when your lamp is going to be found, with the contradicting feeling of wanting to go out to the human world, but not having to grant any wishes.

Though Cheryl was probably the only human who made her enjoy her time outside so much, that she dreaded the thought of leaving her side.

It was a Saturday night and the rain was pouring outside. There was nothing interesting to see on TV — not even Cheryl’s bad soap operas to have a good laugh —, and Cheryl was painting Blu’s nails as she told her funny stories of night outs with her friends.

“You guys sound like you have a lot of fun together,” Blu said, trying to be as still as possible. “The other genies are fun, sure, but we’ve never done anything wild because of the excessive control they have over us,” she confessed, Cheryl cocked a brow.

“What do you mean? Who controls you?” She inquired with a slight frown. Blu panicked, _shit, she shouldn’t have said that_.

“Um, I don’t know if I can tell you…” She said, looking away. Cheryl knitted her brows in a frown.

“Blu, how did you exactly become a genie?” She asked softly, the question running around her head ever since she met her.

“If I knew, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you either, I just know I’ve been one for about…” Blu scratched to the back of her brain, trying to remember the amount of years. “A hundred years, more or less.”

Cheryl’s mouth hung open.

“You’re older than my grandma, and you don’t look a day over twenty one!” She exclaimed, completely astonished. Blu giggled.

“Magic, I guess.” She shrugged, and Cheryl pouted slightly.

“I w— I desire to be young forever too, so I’d never have to stop dancing when my bones become old and tired,” Cheryl said with a dramatic tone, causing Blu to laugh softly.

Blu wanted to say it wasn’t as good as it sounded, that it was actually pretty lonely; the very first day of her training as a genie they said she shouldn’t get too personal with her clients, since one day they’d die and she would go on to live for the rest of the eternity, constantly missing them.

In other words, Blu was breaking the very first rule imposed on genies the moment she started to think she wouldn’t mind living with Cheryl forever.

But she didn’t say any of it, keeping it to herself.

“Why do you love dancing so much? Do you have an emotional story behind it or is it simply something that runs through your veins?” She inquired with a curious tone, blowing on her nails.

Cheryl laughed and began painting her own nails.

“It’s actually a nice story, not as dramatic as you’d think,” she answered with a smile. “All the women in my mom’s family were dancers, so I guess it runs in my veins. Growing up, I tried a little bit of everything, and ended up liking everything I tried. So here I am, twenty eight years young, teaching all kinds of dances.”

Blu whistled in amazement.

“I _desire_ to be as passionate about something like you,” Blu said, prompting Cheryl to roll her eyes with a little smile.

“I’m sure there’s something you’re passionate about, you just have to try to find it,” Cheryl encouraged her with her usual optimism.

Blu didn’t want to bring up the going back to the lamp thing again; they were having a nice moment, and she’d noticed how Cheryl’s demeanour changed each time she mentioned it.

“ _I’m passionate about not going back to my world, just so I can stay with you,”_ Blu thought, not having the courage to say it out loud.

“You could help me finding it,” she suggested instead.

A soft smile spread across Cheryl’s face.

“I’d love that, darling.”

*

Blu woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, and she saw a piece of paper attached to her lamp that wasn’t there when they went to bed.

She picked it up and a cold sweat ran down her back as she read it. Blu knew staying for too long would cause her troubles.

Blu made the letter disappear with a snap of her fingers and went back to sleep next to Cheryl, she had to make every moment count from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feedback is very much appreciated! hit me up on tumblr @chachkisalpaca if ya want x


	5. I'll Be Alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another short-ish chapter! we're getting in the end fellas. thanks to frey for beta-ing!

_DDC: I have something to tell you. Meet me for lunch at the Italian place near your studio?_

Cheryl blinked repeatedly, typing out an answer with one hand, as she held her coffee mug with the other.

“G’morning,” Blu said, dragging herself into the kitchen, still half-asleep. Cheryl mumbled a 'Good morning' without looking up. “Remember that today we have a meeting with the seamstress in charge of the costumes for the Valentine’s Day show at four.”

Something inside Cheryl felt different when she heard Blu say _we_ , and she couldn’t bring herself to correct her, besides, it didn’t really bother her. If anything, she liked it — more than she should have.

A brief thought crossed her mind that startled her; she was starting to _like_ Blu, and not as a friend.

She couldn’t allow herself to feel that, due to the fact that one day Blu would be gone - maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow - but one day she’d leave for forever and, if Cheryl was to allow herself to have feelings for her, she’d end up heartbroken and everything would remind her of Blu — the domestic bliss they’d lived in being something Cheryl wished to have once she met someone special.

(She’d once thought it could be Vivienne, but lately she wasn’t thinking that much about her, the “playing Cupid” plan completely forgotten after that night they ran into her.)

But she still smiled and gave a small nod.

“Divina invited me to have lunch today. Do you mind staying at the studio?” She requested, and Blu’s brows were immediately knit in a frown.

“Chez, you know the rules say—”

“Please, just for this time. It’s near the studio and I’ll be back before you notice!” Cheryl pleaded, putting on the best puppy eyes she could muster, followed by a pout. Blu was chewing on her lower lip, her expression full of doubt.

In the end, she gave a defeated sigh.

“Fine. Jesus, Chez, I swear I can’t say no when you look at me like that.” Blu folded her arms, dramatically looking away. Cheryl laughed softly, her heart making a jump when she noticed the rosy tone on Blu’s pale cheeks.

*

When Divina pulled Cheryl into a hug when greeting, Cheryl sensed something was wrong. Divina always hugged her tightly, with a small smile against her hair, instantly lifting up her mood. This time, Divina’s grip was lose, her hands were shaky, and she could notice the forced smile.

“How are you, love? How are things going at your new job?” Cheryl inquired, taking a seat and briefly studying the menu. Divina shrugged, fidgeting with her rings.

“It’s been good, my co-workers are nice, and my secretary is a gal fresh from college that stares at the intern across the hallway whenever I’m not looking,” she rambled with a giggle, making Cheryl laugh softly.

A waitress swung by to take their orders, leaving shortly after. There was a moment of silence as they sipped their drinks.

“You got anything new to tell me?” Divina inquired with a suspicious tone, like a mother inquiring their child about something they clearly knew they’d done.

“Not really, no; perhaps the only new thing is that we’ve already printed the tickets for the Valentine’s Day show and today we’re meeting the seamstress to check how she’s holding up,” she replied with a casual tone, but Divina furrowed her brow in confusion.

“ _We_? Have you finally hired someone to assist you running that madhouse you call dance studio?”

Cheryl froze with the glass of lingering at her lips. Shit.

She thought about lying to Divina for a moment, but she quickly discarded that idea; Divina could tell when someone was lying better than anyone.

She had no choice but to tell her the truth — well, half of it.

“I have. It’s Blu, the girl I brought to our last meeting; she needed a job and I needed help.” Cheryl shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. Divina’s expression softened, a small smile appearing.

“She looks like a nice girl, I really liked her,” she admitted, chewing on the inside of her cheek, going back to fidgeting with her rings. “And I noticed the way she looked at you.”

Cheryl opened her eyes widely with a mix of surprise and a warm feeling she couldn’t name in her chest. She leaned forward in her chair, locking eyes with Divina.

“What do you mean? How was the looking at me?” She asked, sounding more excited than she intended to.

Divina smiled softly. “Like one would look at a hopeless crush, maybe a High School one, that they never got to confess their feelings to,” she said in a sing-sang tone.

Cheryl blushed violently and dismissed Divina’s words with a wave of her hand.

“You were probably seeing things, ‘cause I’m dead sure Blu doesn’t feel anything for me,” Cheryl stated. Divina stifled a giggle and was about to say something when Cheryl remembered why they were there. “Didn’t you have something to tell me, anyway?”

Divina’s whole demeanour changed. She could tell that what she was about to say wasn’t good.

“Yeah, about that… Do you want the long story or straight to the point?”

Cheryl shrugged. “Straight to the point, I guess.”

Divina breathed in deeply before dropping the bomb.

“Vivienne’s dating her secretary, Barbara.”

It amazed Cheryl how she didn’t feel what she should normally feel in this type of situations, instead - a faint feeling of disappointment settled in her chest, contrary to the heart break she supposed she should be feeling.

Before she could say anything, the waitress was back with their orders, and Cheryl twirled the spaghetti in her fork for a long minute before speaking.

“How’d you know that?” She asked calmly, a calmness that Divina mistook as bottling up her feelings.

“My secretary Georgia looks like a quiet girl, but she knows businesses of everyone in the office. I didn’t even have to ask her what was going on between Vivienne and her secretary - she just told me when she noticed I’d been staring at her,” Divina went on, pinching her ravioli. Cheryl nodded slowly, prompting her to go on.

Divina locked eyes with her, perhaps expecting to see her eyes go red or her lip quiver. Cheryl’s face was expressionless.

“She said everyone in the office could tell it was kind of a mutual pinning thing. Apparently they went on a date last week; Barbara told Kat, the intern, and she told Georgia over lunch break, and Georgia told me,” she finished, reaching for Cheryl’s hands across the table and squeezing it. “I’m sorry, love, I know you never got an answer from her.”

Cheryl stroked Divina’s hand back, but she wasn’t there completely.

“ _She invited her to a date after she saw me with Blu_ ,” she thought after realizing the time matched. She couldn’t believe it — and she saw her face every other day when she picked Lily up!

“She’s a bitch,” Cheryl declared, taking a mouthful of spaghetti. Divina cocked a brow, surprised.

“That’s all you have to say?” She inquired, taking a bite of the ravioli. Cheryl nodded with a shrug. “I thought you’d shed a tear or two, honestly. I’m proud of you, though,” she admitted with a smile.

Cheryl swallowed and thought about the warm feeling in her chest whenever she saw Blu.

She looked at Divina and smiled, reaching for her hand.

“I think I’ll be fine.”

*

“Blu, I’m back,” Cheryl exclaimed, entering the studio, but Blu wasn’t in the main hall. She frowned slightly, heading to the dancehall, hearing classical music coming from it.

She barely opened the door to peek inside, and she saw Blu doing the ballet choreography they taught the kids for the show. It didn’t matter that it was the simplest thing ever - Blu made the dance look absolutely delicate and ethereal, looking like she was floating on air.

Cheryl didn’t dare to step inside and abruptly ruin this moment, so she allowed herself to stare at Blu for as long as the choreography lasted.

Suddenly, with her heart hammering against her chest, Cheryl realized she might’ve fallen for Blu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if y'all leave feedback i wouldn't mind. hit me up on tumblr @chachkisalpaca


	6. Roses

“You wanna get takeaway from The Chippy? I really don’t feel like cooking today,” Cheryl said, placing her head on Blu’s shoulder as they walked home.

The Valentine’s Day show was happening the following week and Cheryl’s stress levels were high up in the sky. Blu didn’t like seeing her so miserable about something she was so excited about just days earlier.

There was also the fact that Blu’s time was running out.

“Nah, I saw this recipe on TV the other day and I wanted to try it out, what do you think?” She suggested. Cheryl looked up at her with a smile.

“Okay, it’s better than waiting in line at The Chippy, I guess.”

“And better yet — you’re going to help me cook,” Blu announced with a playful smile. Cheryl laughed, but she stopped when she noticed Blu wasn’t.

“Are you serious?” Blu nodded. “I thought you only made things appear out of thin air.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Blu replied, Cheryl laughed softly and went back to placing her head on Blu’s shoulder, holding on a little tighter to her arm.

*

As it turned out, cooking wasn’t that easy when Blu wasn’t using her magic — especially if she didn’t bother looking up the recipe she was about to make, and instead tried to go exclusively by memory.

Cheryl ended up taking over, reading the recipe from her phone, and instructing Blu what to do. Though the genie was clearly unhappy about it - she was trying to do something nice for Cheryl, after all.

More than an hour had passed, and they were able to sort out their dinner. They put the lasagne in the oven and sat heavily in the couch as it baked.

“Well, that was fun,” Cheryl said with a laugh. “I thought magic was supposed to make you good at cooking,” she teased. Blu rolled her eyes, suppressing a smile.

“Oh, shut up, I was doing just fine before you interrupted me.” She folded her arms and looked away.

“Says the lady that thought ketchup was the same as tomato purée,” Cheryl said between giggles. Blu’s cheeks got a slight rosy tone.

Before she could say anything, she felt Cheryl’s hands over her cheek, with her thumb pressing slightly against her skin. Blu’s heart skipped several beats.

“What are you doing?” She asked, turning to see her.

“You’ve got something here…” Cheryl replied, concentrated on whatever Blu had on her cheek. “There.” She smiled, satisfied, and met Blu’s gaze.

It surprised Blu when Cheryl didn’t withdraw her hand, her thumb slowly caressing her cheek.

Little by little, Blu lifted her hand to meet Cheryl’s, giving it a soft squeeze. She didn’t know how much time they spent staring into each other’s eyes when Cheryl broke the silence.

“I know I’ll sound really selfish, but I really don’t want you to go,” she whispered softly, making Blu’s heart hammer against her chest.

‘ _I have to tell her,_ ’ she thought, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. She was terrified of telling Cheryl the Council had given her a deadline for coming back, and it happened to be the day of the Valentine’s show.

So she kept her mouth shut and instead closed her eyes, leaning her head to Cheryl’s hand.

“You’re not selfish,” she said instead. “If it was up to me, I’d stay forever,” she confessed and she meant it. Blu didn’t think she’d be able to go back to the genie life after meeting Cheryl.

She didn’t think she could adjust to a lifetime without her dumb jokes, without seeing her dance without a care in the word, without hearing her laugh.

Blu heard a sigh before Cheryl spoke again.

“I really don’t know how to say this,” Cheryl began. Blu opened her eyes, brows knit in a frown. Cheryl opened her mouth to speak again, but she was interrupted by her phone. She excused herself and answered the call, consequently withdrawing her hand from Blu’s cheeks.

“Janice? What happened?” She inquired with a confused tone. Blu recognized the name of the seamstress Cheryl had hired. Cheryl’s mouth hung open after a moment of silence. “No, no, it’s fine. It’s not your fault — yeah, I can find a way to replace it, no problem. Just stitch the others, please, I need them. Thank you, have a good night.” After hunging up, she covered her face with her hands, screaming against her palms. Blu was quick to lean closer, placing her hand on her shoulder.

“Chez, what happened? What was that about?” She asked in a worried tone.

Cheryl breathed in deeply and massaged her temples, letting Blu see the dampness in the corners of her eyes.

“Janice, she said she was packing up the costumes when her ex-husband appeared to take their kid with him — except that we was high off his ass, and she refused to let him take Thomas like that,” Cheryl recalled, her voice breaking from time to time. “They fought and he became violent, and Janice said he took the first thing he could find to destroy, and what was it? My costume for the show.” Cheryl closed her eyes with a groan, and Blu felt incredibly angry. “Janice is okay, though. Thomas called the police when things got ugly.”

Blu didn’t know what to say, honestly. She was as upset as Cheryl and no coherent sentence would come out of her mouth, so she instead rubbed Cheryl’s back as she stared at something in the room.

If Cheryl was stressed before, Blu was positive she’d have a mental breakdown soon if they couldn’t fix the situation.

An idea suddenly hit Blu. It had probably been her best idea ever, or the worst one, it wasn't settled yet.

“Hey, not everything is bad. You know you can wish for a new costume, right?” She said softly, with her hand still rubbing Cheryl’s back.

Cheryl immediately locked eyes with her, sniffing a little.

“I can?” She asked, full of doubt. Blu laughed softly.

“Of course you can, baby.” Blu tried not to think much about the fact that it was the first time she called Cheryl a pet name.

Cheryl wiped away a pair of sneaky tears and reached for her phone, showing Blu a picture of her costume shortly after.

“You think you can make this appear from thin air?” She wondered, Blu took a quick look at it and nodded.

“You wish for it, I do it.”

Cheryl pursed her lips and took a deep breath, trying to form a coherent sentence. Once the words came from her mouth, Blu snapped her fingers with a wide smile.

Almost instantly Cheryl’s costume appeared on her body, the clothes she was wearing before neatly folded in the coffee table behind them. While Cheryl gasped in amazement and stood up to check it out, Blu admired her in silence, unable to say a word.

Cheryl looked _breathtaking_. She was supposed to be a forest spirit during the ballet segment the kids did, and her costume did make her look as a deity. It was an emerald green dress that ended a few inches above her knee, with the skirt covered in red roses that got smaller as they trailed to the torso, and sparkled all over, shining with every move Cheryl made.

Blu stared at her as a smile appeared again on her face and she giggled excitedly. Cheryl was, in Blu’s eyes, the cutest thing in the world in that exact moment.

“Blu, I can’t believe it! I love, love, love it! Thank you so much,” she chirped, Blu laughed and was about to reply when Cheryl jumped at her, giving her a sloppy hug.

Blu wrapped her arms around Cheryl’s waist, hugging her tightly and wishing she could melt into her embrace.

Leaving her would hurt, definitely.

Cheryl separated from her a little, staring into Blu’s eyes.

“Thank you, for real,” she said softly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Blu was on the verge of blurting out an ‘I love you’ when she smelled something burning. She opened her eyes widely.

“Shit, we forgot the lasagne in the oven!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hit me up on tumblr and all that jazz @chachkisalpaca


	7. First Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the end! i hope you all liked the fic, thanks to winter for being my personal cheerleader and being the lovely person that she is. love you, babe. also to frey, for putting up with me this whole week lmao  
> i really liked this verse, and i'm planning on re-visiting it soon!

Cheryl had used her second wish almost by accident. The day of the Valentine’s Day show she went early to the theatre to begin preparing the place for later with the help of some of the staff. Things were going okay; everything was just like it should be — until one of the members of the staff informed her there was a slight problem with the music.

A slight problem as in, one of the speakers being broken and the console having malfunctions.

Cheryl just breathed in and asked if they could fix it in time for the show. They admitted they didn’t know; due to the occasion, the technician was out of town with his wife, and since it happened to be Sunday, it’d have been hard to find another.

She nodded, clenching her jaw, and when she was alone with Blu, the words simply slipped from her lips.

“Ugh, I wish the sound equipment would just fix itself!” She huffed, folding her arms. Blu snapped her fingers and Cheryl almost snapped her neck with the speed she turned to see Blu. _Oh no_.

Almost immediately she could hear music neatly playing through the theatre, and one of the members of the staff screaming that the console was fine again.

Cheryl wanted to slap herself. She had one wish left, meaning she was closer to losing Blu. The thought haunted her for the entire day, and not even the kids’ chaos could distract her.

The hours had passed in a blur, and before she noticed, she was putting on her costume and doing her makeup, with Blu sitting near her, rambling about the soap opera Cheryl made her watch last night.

“I just don’t get it, Chez, how can Lorena’s dad say she wants her to be happy, but at the same time forbid her from seeing Soledad?” Blu inquired, watching how Cheryl tried to get her eye-liner right. 

Cheryl stifled a laugh. She never expected Blu to get so invested in _El Bahiano_ ; it did make her happy to share her favourite thing in the world with Blu, though.

“He’s just homophobic, Blu. It’s settled in the 19th century, it kinda makes sense, whether you like it or not.” She shrugged, putting on her lipstick.

Blu pursed her lips and folded her arms.

“I hope they get together tough, Lorena and Soledad make a cute couple, despite knowing each other since like, two months? One month? I’m not sure, the time line confuses me.”

Cheryl snorted, messing up her lipstick a little.

“A month and a couple of days, I think.” _Just like us_ , she thought, correcting the smudged edges.

(If she thought about it, her relationship with Blu greatly resembled the relationship of Lorena and Soledad - both met by accident, lived in a temporary domestic bliss, and one of them had a previous rocky relationship. If they ended up together, living by the sea happily ever after would still be uncertain. But, God, Cheryl wanted that so badly.)

Before Cheryl noticed, she was shooing the parents off the backstage and lining up the kids, encouraging and reminding them to be ready on their cue, just like they always did back at the studio.

She was impatiently waiting for the presenter to finish his speech, biting her nails unconsciously.

“Stop that, you’ll ruin your manicure,” Blu scolded, taking Cheryl’s hands. She’d complain, but Blu’s thumbs rubbing on the back of her hands really soothed her nerves. “It’ll be alright, you got this,” she encouraged with a smile.

Cheryl bit her lower lip. No matter how many times she did this, she always got nervous when she had to go on the stage. Ironically, she loved being the centre of attention.

Her heart gave a jump when the presenter finished and the lights went off. It was the time.

“You’ll be amazing,” Blu said one last time, leaving a kiss on her cheek.

Cheryl hurried to the centre of the stage, standing still en pointe until the spotlight focused on her and she began moving with delicate moves in sync with the music.

The kids began to appear and she felt her chest explode with pride for them. It made her happy to see how well they committed to their characters and moved with elegance — well, as much elegance as they could, being tiny and young.

The story they were trying to tell was clear and concise; Cheryl’s character, the forest spirit, was retiring and needed someone to replace her, and so she searched among the forest creatures for a worthy Heir or Heiress.

All the creatures she met had some kind of flaw, though, like vanity, jealousy, pride, or laziness. She searched and searched, until she found a creature she deemed worthy - a kind, shy, little flower that, throughout the story, fell into the background.

When Cheryl was handing down her flower crown to Amelia, she looked up to the crowd and saw Vivienne staring right at her. She smiled to herself when she noticed she didn’t feel anything while looking at her.

‘ _I’m someone else’s baby now_ ,’ she thought as the theatre was filled with applause.

Cheryl jumped into Blu’s arms as soon as she was backstage, feeling completely euphoric, the screams of the kids blocked out as Blu lifted her from the ground and spun her around.

“I’m so proud of you, baby,” she whispered near her ear as she put her back down. Cheryl’s heart was beating so fast she thought it’d come out of her chest.

She hugged Blu tightly, wanting the moment to last forever, but she had to break the embrace before it became awkward. Besides, she had to get her junior students ready.

*

The final curtain was closed and Cheryl felt utterly exhausted, but she was happy. Happy and proud of her students.

There were parents already stepping in the backstage to pick up her kids and she couldn’t be bothered about it, taking advantage of the chaos to change her clothes. Blu had said they’d go out to have dinner as a celebration and she was excited for it.

Once she was back in her normal clothes and picking up her things, a lot of parents went up to her to congratulate her for the show, and the little ones hugged her legs and told her how much fun they had.

Cheryl’s heart melted every time. God, she loved them.

She was walking arm in arm with Blu when yet again Cheryl felt someone tug on her coat. She turned around to see Lily and her parents a few steps behind.

“Miss Cheryl, Miss Blu, I came to say goodbye. I had so much fun!” She chirped and Cheryl cooed.

“I’m glad, darling. You were amazing,” she complimented, patting her shoulder. She looked up to see her parents and was surprised to notice Vivienne wasn’t around, though she didn’t think much of it. “Have a lovely night. I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

They left the theatre and stopped for a moment to decide where they would have dinner. Blu was trying to convince her to have sushi, when she heard a voice calling her. She sighed nervously as she recognized Vivienne’s voice.

“Hey, Cheryl, can I talk to you? In private,” she said, and Cheryl could already feel this wouldn’t be good.

Still, she ignored Blu’s worried look and told her it’d take a minute, walking a few meters away with Vivienne.

“So, what is it that you need to tell me?” Cheryl began, already having an idea of what Vivienne wanted to talk about.

Vivienne clenched her jaw and stumbled to make a coherent sentence at first.

“I’m sorry I never gave you an answer, I really am. And I know it’s been a long time, but I think I owe you an explanation.” She gave a heavy sigh before continuing. “I’m seeing someone else—”

“Oh, I know,” Cheryl cut her off, leaving Vivienne baffled. “My friend Divina applied at the law firm you work at without knowing about it, and it didn’t take her long to find out and tell me,” she proceeded. Vivienne was silent, her face the embodiment of embarrassment. “I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just wish you’d told me you had feelings for someone else, that’d made things easier.”

Cheryl shrugged and Vivienne sighed.

“You’re right, and I’m sorry. I guess I was a coward in that way.” _You were_ , Cheryl thought, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. “Since you stole the words from my mouth, I guess all I have left to say is, no hard feelings?”

Though Cheryl wanted to be petty and turn this into a dramatic moment, she really didn’t have it in her to be a bad person to Vivienne when she truly sounded apologetic. So she smiled softly and nodded.

“No hard feelings.”

*

“That was very mature of you,” Blu complimented as they made their way to get sushi (in the end, she’d managed to convince Cheryl, despite her wanting to eat something less fancy).

Cheryl hummed, a million thoughts running through her head.

She didn’t know if it was the date, the fact that every two steps they took there was a happy couple, or her talk with Vivienne, but she suddenly felt the need to come clean to Blu about her feelings. Cheryl just had a gut feeling that it was then or never.

So she stopped dead in her tracks, tugging on Blu’s arm so she’d stop too. Blu looked confused for a moment, until Cheryl spoke.

“I— I have something to tell you,” she said with a trembling voice. Blu knitted her brows in a furrow.

“What’s so important that it can’t wait until we get sushi?” She asked, trying to sound funny, but she sounded as nervous as Cheryl. Perhaps she had already guessed what was going on, perhaps not.

Cheryl gulped, fidgeting with her hands.

“It’d be better if we talk about this in a more private place.” Blu cocked a brow, but didn’t say anything, just complied.

They walked a few streets away in complete silence, both clearly nervous, until they got to a street where they were completely alone, and not even a car in sight.

Blu leant against a wall, looking at Cheryl expectantly.

“So, I really don’t know how to say this, I’ve never been good with words, but I’ll try.” She took a deep breath and tried to say the words, but they refused to come out of her mouth. She sighed annoyed. “I can’t say it, I don’t know why, but I really want you to know that you’re special to me in a way I can’t explain, and the sole thought of you being gone forever makes me just so sad it’s unreal, and, and—”

“Baby, _breathe_ ,” Blu said, placing her hand on Cheryl’s cheek, rubbing her thumb softly in her skin.

That was enough for the words to spill from Cheryl’s mouth.

“I’m in love with you,” she said softly, with a tenderness that surprised her.

Blu opened her eyes widely, face turning into a tomato in mere seconds. Almost immediately spiraling thoughts began circling Cheryl’s mind; what if Blu didn’t love her back? Had she been wrong by thinking there was a small chance Blu felt something for her?

She was about to backpedal and tell Blu to forget it, when she kissed the tip of her nose.

“I’m in love with you too.”

It took Cheryl a moment to realize what Blu had just said, and without giving it a second thought, she placed her hands on Blu’s shoulders and slowly pulled her into a kiss. Cheryl was surprised at herself by having the courage to do such a thing, but she couldn’t wait a second more. She’d dreamed of kissing Blu more times than she wanted to admit.

Blu answered right back, placing her hands on Cheryl’s waist and pulling her closer. Cheryl’s heart was about to explode with happiness; she’d been so nervous about confessing her feelings to Blu, the fear of rejecting getting the best of her. But it felt so good to know Blu liked her back.

The kiss broke when they both ran out of air, with foreheads touching, they stared into each other’s eyes. Neither knew what to say, but it wasn’t really necessary.

They went to have sushi shortly after in their bubble of happiness and love, giggling and talking in whispers, and Cheryl felt like a teen all over again, with her cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

Everything was perfect, it really was.

When it was time to head home, they held hands as they slowly walked in the streets, talking about everything and nothing and things were _fine_.

It was when they were entering Cheryl’s apartment building when Blu started to act strange, looking everywhere and squeezing Cheryl’s hand tighter than before. She found it weird, though she didn’t say anything.

They entered their home and Cheryl couldn’t supress a smile at the thought. She turned to see Blu, but her gaze was fixed in the lamp resting on the coffee table.

“I have something else to confess you,” Blu finally said after a moment of silence.

Cheryl nodded, thinking it’d have to do with the fact that she was one wish away from losing Blu.

“What is it, honey?” She asked softly, sitting down on the sofa and watching Blu pace back and forth.

Blu sighed heavily before speaking.

“I should’ve told you, I really should have. But I've never expected this to happen, so, um…” She scratched the back of her neck, making a piece of paper appear out of thin air and giving it to her.

Cheryl read carefully each word, and she soon felt tears gathering in her eyes.

 _“’Your deadline for coming back is Fourteenth of February. Even if you haven’t granted your client their three wishes as it is mandatory, you are expected to come back by midnight. Too much exposure to the human world can cause attachment to it, or your client — which, as you know, is discouraged if one wants to live a peaceful live in eternity.’”_ Cheryl read out loud, her voice breaking from time to time.

So all this time it didn’t matter that she delayed her wishes - Blu would be gone either way?

“Were you planning on telling me any of this?” Cheryl inquired, sounding more pissed off than she meant.

Blu sat beside her heavily, covering her face with her hands.

“I was, I swear. But it got difficult as time passed and I realized I don’t wanna go, I wanna stay with you,” Blu said, uncovering her face and reaching for Cheryl’s hand and squeezing it.

She squeezed her hand back, but she truly was at a loss of words.

“Is there any way you can stay with me? Maybe if I wish for it?” She wondered, already feeling hopeless.

Blu bit her lower lip, lost in her thoughts for a moment.

“Would you want that, though? Me to stay forever with you? You know I’m immortal, and legally I don’t exist. What will happen the day you get tired of me and I have nowhere else to go?” Blu trembled, and Cheryl clenched her jaw as she wrapped her arms around her.

“Honey, I don’t think that’s possible; there’s no way that I’ll ever get tired of your stories and silly jokes,” she assured her with a soft smile, though there was still doubt in Blu’s expression. “The question here is do _you_ want to leave the genie life to stay with this tired dance teacher? Is that what you want, to live a normal, boring life with me?”

Cheryl pressed her forehead against Blu’s, the room going silent as she thought about it. Cheryl was starting to worry that Blu decided to go back to the lamp when she finally spoke.

“I want that. A normal, boring life, as you say, is better than spending the eternity missing you and thinking what could’ve been if I said yes.” Blu stroked Cheryl’s cheek softly, and her chest exploded with happiness.

“In that case… I wish for infinite wishes,” she breathed out, and Blu snapped her fingers right away. Cheryl looked around. “Did it work?”

Blu shrugged.

“I don’t know, I guess we’ll have to wait ‘til—” She couldn’t finish her sentence when there was a spark coming from her lamp and another letter appeared. “Well, that was fast.”

She picked up the note and proceeded to read it out loud.

“ _Dear Genie #2256, A.K.A Blu, it has come to our attention that your client has wished for infinite wishes, something not against the rules, but never thought of before. We are sincerely sorry for this accident, and your portal is always open in case you want to pay us a visit. We suggest persuading your client from undoing this wish, but until further notice, we’re already redacting a rule against this, so no other genie is forced to stay in the human world. We hope things go smoothly for you, and your client is a kind one. Best regards, The Council.”_

A giggle escaped Cheryl’s lips, if only they knew…

Blu looked at her, wrapping her arms behind her neck.

“I think that means you are truly stuck with me,” she said with a toothy smile.

“I can live with that,” Cheryl replied, pulling her into another kiss.

She didn’t know how they’d make this work, being a human and an immortal being, but they had time to figure things out. Right now, she just wanted to melt into her embrace.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr as @chachkisalpaca too!


End file.
